


Circle Days

by CocotteJenn



Series: Ana Surana, Alwyn Hawke (aka the Sad Mages worldstate) [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Circle of Magi, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Dragon Age: Origins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 15:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15512613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CocotteJenn/pseuds/CocotteJenn
Summary: Jowan isn't the brightest apprentice in the Tower. He isn't even particularly good. But he tries so hard.





	Circle Days

“Come on, Jowan, you can do it,” Surana encouraged him. “You just have to concentrate a little. Like this.”   
  
With a wave of her fingers, the tip of the candle caught fire. The flame flicked slightly before setting up straight, bathing them in its warmth. It looked so easy when she did it. She made everything look so easy. She was a natural, or so the First Enchanter said. Jowan, though, had yet to even produce the smallest of sparks.   
  
The elven apprentice pursed her lips to blow out the candle. “Now you do it.”   
  
Jowan took his place next to her, facing the candle with determination. He breathed slowly to calm his nerve. You can do it, Ana’s words echoed in his mind. He gave her a cursory glance. She was smiling with encouragement, a sight that he found unnerving for some reason.   
  
Biting his lips in concentration, Jowan cast the spell like he had been taught. He felt the mana coursing through his body and willed it to take shape in his hands. They grew hot with magic and, for the first time in his life, a flame started dancing at the tip of his fingers. His jaw dropped to the ground at the sight of it. Fire. Real fire!  _ I did it! _ Awestruck by his new achievement, Jowan almost forgot about the candle. The flame grew bigger, now fitting in the palm of his hand. Not good.  _ What am I supposed to do with that? _ He looked at his friend for guidance, alarm all over his face. Ana was staring at the flame, her eyes wide with surprise as if she didn't believe he would actually succeed in casting the spell.   
  
“Just calm down, Jowan,” she told him. “Breathe.”   
  
_ Easier said than done! _ he wanted to yell at her. She wasn't the one with a hand on fire. She was never the one who had trouble controlling her magic.   
  
In his panic, Jowan threw the fireball in the general direction of the candle, hoping it would do the trick. It didn't. He missed by a foot and watched in horror as the fire hit the curtains behind the table. The fabric combusted rapidly, feeding the blaze until it grew taller than him.   
  
Surana reacted quickly, using a cold spell to douse the flames. It looked bad. Really bad. The whole scene was pathetic to behold. More than half of the curtain had been turned into ashes, and the ice from Ana’s spell was now dripping on the floor, forming a sad-looking puddle. They would get in trouble for this. They weren't allowed to practice dangerous spells without a mentoring mage supervising, but Ana, sometimes overconfident in her own abilities, had thought she could teach him the spell.   
  
Behind them, Jowan heard the loud laughter of Daylen Amell who had been watching them practice for some time. His face grew hot with embarrassment. He had failed yet again to cast a simple spell both of his friends had mastered when they were twelve years old. Surana gave the other boy an angry look, but Jowan could see by the way she was biting her lips that she wanted to laugh at him too.   
  
“At least you managed to produce a flame this time,” she said, putting an arm around his shoulder. “You just need a little more practice now.”   
  
Jowan snapped at her. “Well, I'm tired! I don't want to practice anymore!” He threw his hands up and stormed out of the study room, leaving his friends behind.   
  
He heard the light footsteps of Surana starting to follow him before Day stopped her. “Let him go,” he said, sounding as haughty as he had always been. “If he doesn't want to train, then you shouldn't bother with him. And if he does, he’ll come around.”   
  
Jowan waited a few seconds in the hallway to see if Ana would chase him anyway. But the only thing coming out of the room were the sounds of soft giggles that made him want to retch. Now in a sullen mood, he made his way to the chapel where his company would be a lot more appreciated.


End file.
